After the Rain: Hidden Love
by Yuu Amano
Summary: Six years have passed since the defeat of Quartzmon and the Hunters are faced with something even tougher than battles: their own feelings! Requited feelings, broken hearts, yanderes, rejections and a whole lot of drama: can they survive?
1. Chapter 1

_I really need to stop starting new things, but my muses won't leave me alone sometimes and this is sort of a gift-fic to two of my friends, __**Aiko Isari **__and __**charlycatz. **__It is also my story for my Novel with Prompts challenge and uses the prompt 'doubt' and for once is a fluffy romantic type fic._

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**Chapter One:**

It had been six years since the Digimon Hunt had ended. The group had drifted apart from one another somewhat but Taiki and Tagiru especially made sure everyone kept in touch. It was Yuu's birthday party and really, just an excuse for everyone to get back together. The hall was lit up with various forms of lighting and a table with food and drinks placed on it.

Akari brought out the cake to place it on the table and shifted. "Where are those guys? I hope they didn't get stuck picking Yuu-kun up from the airport."

Nene laughed. "You worry too much."

It seemed like she was right as the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching them. Nene gestured to the others and they turned off the lighting.

As the door opened, everyone yelled at once, "Surprise!"

Yuu jumped back, his eyes widening and he stared. "This…what…"

Tagiru laughed. "Yuu looks speechless!"

Taiki rolled his eyes. "Tagiru, leave him alone. Do you like it, Yuu? It was your birthday so we decided to arrange something special for you."

A soft smile formed on Yuu's face and he nodded. "I love it, thank you so much! This means a lot, you guys."

Nene walked over, pulling him into a hug. "It's good to see you."

Even though the two siblings talked rather often on the phone, due to their own busy lives with Nene as a model and Yuu working full-time at a catering service, the two didn't keep in touch as much as they should. Luckily, Nene could always count on Taiki to keep an eye on Yuu when she wasn't around so it made her worry a little less.

Yuu smiled. "It's good to see you too, Neesan."

"Yuu!" Airu tackled Yuu into a hug, clearly excited to see him and Yuu shifted, catching her just by reflex before she could tackle him right into the ground.

The blond couldn't get help but laugh a little sheepishly as he hugged Airu back. He really didn't know how to respond to her sometimes. "I-it's good to see you too, Airu-san." As politely as he could, he pulled away from her, glowering at a laughing Tagiru.

Tagiru grinned. "Sorry Yuu but the look on your face was hilarious!"

Yuu just glowered even more, radiating displeasure causing Taiki to sigh.

"Tagiru," Taiki chided half-heartedly. "Stop."

"But he makes it so easy, Taiki-san!" Tagiru whined with a pout.

Nene giggled. "Come on Yuu, grab a bite to eat with us."

Yuu nodded, before looking around. "Where's Ryouma-san?"

Ren sighed. "He's outside. He only came cause Airu and I dragged him here otherwise he's been cooped up inside."

Yuu shifted. He didn't know what to feel about Ryouma. At one stage, he could kind of understand what the other was going through but on the other end he didn't feel so forgiving. He knew Taiki had already forgiven Ryouma, but somehow for Taiki's sake, he wasn't ready to forgive the other yet.

"I'll go talk to him!" Tagiru said cheerfully, snapping Yuu out of his thoughts.

"Tagiru, you..." Yuu began, a little surprised and Tagiru shook his head.

"Beating him up over what he's done won't change anything," Tagiru said to Yuu shrugging. "Besides, doesn't he punish himself enough without us having to add to it? I know how you feel, Yuu. Taiki-san lacks self-preservation so you want us to be mad for his sake."

Taiki blinked at this, glancing at Yuu who turned red as Tagiru stated that so bluntly.

"I just thought that," Yuu seemed to be unable to form words as they seemed to get stuck in his throat.

Tagiru sighed. "Yeah, I get it. I was mad at him at first too but he lost everything already Yuu. I don't wanna make him lose his friends too." He shifted and then laughed. "I guess I've caught Taiki-san's can't-turn-my-back illness or something."

Yuu rolled his eyes. He could kind of see where Tagiru was coming from. "Not like I can convince you otherwise anyway, you dork. I think Taiki-san's illness is contagious anyway." He winked at Taiki who turned red and hid his face.

"You two are plotting to murder me," Taiki mumbled.

Tagiru laughed, winking at Yuu. "Darn Yuu, he caught onto our master plan."

Yuu just laughed, shaking his head. "Classic, Taiki-san."

Taiki glowered at them both through the flush on his face before hiding his face again. "S-Stop…"

Tagiru rolled his eyes before heading outside to go talk to Ryouma. He noticed Ryouma was sitting on a bench that was just in front of the hall and seemed to have a rather…serious expression on his face.

_Gee, he beats himself up more than Yuu did, _Tagiru thought to himself before moving to sit besides Ryouma on the bench.

"You think too much you know that?" Tagiru said causing Ryouma to jump a little.

"Tagiru?" Ryouma stared. "You should be inside. It is your best friend's birthday party after all."

Tagiru shrugged. "Yeah, it is. That's why I came to get you. It isn't fun if you're all sad here outside ya know?"

Ryouma flushed a little. "I-I'm fine…I just wanted to be alone."

Tagiru paused for a moment as if thinking that over. "Is it really that fun being by yourself?"

"Um…" Ryouma began but Tagiru cut himself off.

"Psychemon isn't here," Tagiru said bluntly. "So it definitely feels lonely. But punishing yourself won't exactly bring him back. Damemon came back to Yuu. So Psychemon will come back to you as well."

"I just…I miss him," Ryouma admitted. "And that…that's not right. What I did to Taiki-san…"

Tagiru sighed, somehow knowing this topic would be brought up. How to address it…gosh, thinking about things was more Taiki and Yuu's area and he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, so you hurt Taiki-san. You made a mistake, Ryouma. Beating yourself up isn't gonna take back what happened then. Yeah, you feel guilty. But you can't just sit there and think about it all the time because it won't do anything." He shifted a little. "Your stronger than that. Ren and Airu are worried about you as well."

Ryouma didn't say anything for a moment and Tagiru thought the other wouldn't say anything when he spoke.

"You're right," Ryouma said. "Sitting here, feeling guilty isn't going to change anything right? I have to fight and be stronger."

"You are strong," Tagiru said immediately. "Ryouma, you're a really great person. You're strong and your smart too. Smarter than me at least since Yuu's always saying I run into walls and all."

Ryouma laughed a little, a cheeky smile crossing his face. "It doesn't take much to be smarter than you though."

Tagiru huffed and pouted. "Not nice." Well, at least he had gotten Ryouma to smile if he was able to tease him like this.

Ryouma just shook his head. "Sorry, couldn't resist." He smiled, although this one was softer and less teasing. "Thanks for coming after me."

Tagiru shrugged and grinned. "Don't mention it! What are friends for?"

Ryouma's smile faltered a little. "You still consider me your friend after…"

Tagiru placed a hand on Ryouma's shoulder. "Yeah, I do. Always. Don't think you don't deserve it cause everyone deserves a second chance."

Ryouma tilted his head to the side and nodded. "Yeah. Do you wanna head inside?"

Tagiru squeezed Ryouma's shoulder once more and shrugged. "I'm perfectly happy here." He rested his head against Ryouma's shoulder causing the other to turn red but didn't make a comment to that.

* * *

Taiki left Akari and Zenjirou to see Yuu sitting with Kiriha and Nene, going to sit besides him. "Hey, your in deep thought."

Yuu smiled a little. "I still think your psychic, always telling what I'm thinking."

Taiki laughed. "I'm not. Your just obvious when your worried about something."

Yuu sighed a little. "I don't want to worry you."

Taiki blinked. And people said he was the one who was too selfless. Honestly, Yuu could be just as bad when he wanted to be. However, shaking that thought aside, he wrapped an arm around Yuu's shoulders. "It's my job to worry about you. So tell, what is it?"

Yuu turned pink at how close the two of them were and almost spluttered, but managed to compose himself. "It's Airu-san…I know she likes me…but…"

Taiki sighed. He had seen the way Airu looked at Yuu as well and it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Yuu did not feel the same way at all but somehow Airu didn't see that. He noticed Yuu's face being pink and blinked. Was he too close? He hadn't realised it if he was. It felt so natural, holding Yuu like this almost as if it was second nature to him.

_Although Yuu does look kind of cute with his cheeks this shade of pink…_He felt his own cheeks heat up as that thought entered his mind. Wait, when did he start thinking of the younger boy as attractive? Pushing that thought aside, he focused on the question Yuu had asked: How to get rid of Airu and her being overly clingy.

"I-I think you just need to talk to her about it," Taiki finally said. "It's hard to hurt someone whose a friend, but it'll hurt her more if she finds out from someone else rather than you telling her. Besides, you're not the type to lead someone on with false hopes anyway." He smiled. "It'll hurt you both in the long run if you do."

Yuu nodded, looking mildly crestfallen. "Yeah…I suppose there really isn't any other way…I just…I hate making people sad."

Taiki pulled Yuu into a full embrace. "I know. But sometimes people need to be made sad to prevent further sadness." He couldn't pick up on what it was, but somehow the thought of Airu liking Yuu bothered him more than he had thought.

_It's just because Yuu doesn't like her and you want his happiness _Taiki told himself. Yeah, that was it. There was nothing else. He couldn't help but laugh a little as Yuu's cheeks turned from pink to red at the embrace. He needed to do this more often to Yuu if it gave him such a cute expression. His thoughts were puzzling him…why did he keep thinking that? Nene might murder him for having these thoughts about her little brother so he decided to push them back and just hold Yuu, trying to bring him comfort since he seemed to be quite anxious.

Even though Taiki couldn't see it, but he could feel someone glaring at him and tilted his head to try and see who it was. Through his peripheral vision, he saw Airu glaring at him and felt his own cheeks turn red. Instead of moving away from Yuu though, his grip around the blond tightened a little more but not enough to cause discomfort.

_Definitely, my feelings are being confusing…_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. Anime MASTER, thanks a lot for your lovely comments. I like Yuu with anyone who can make him happy because he's my favourite character, and Taiki makes everyone happy anyway. Shiny, it's such a huge honour that you liked the fic despite it being your rival couple. I do LOVE Tagiru/Yuu as well. charly, thanks for the compliment. I'm glad you liked the characterisation. The prompt used for this chapter is 'tongue' and I think I'm going to give myself cavities. I apologise if Taiki seems OOC, I just think being a gogglehead, he could be a bit playful._

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**Chapter Two: **

The party went pretty well and the next day, Taiki, Tagiru and Yuu decided to hang out just like old times and catch up with one another.

"What happened yesterday with Ryouma?" Taiki said.

Tagiru felt his cheeks heat up a little. "Um...nothing much, just talking, you know."

Yuu poked Tagiru's cheek and grinned. "Looks to me it was more than just talking."

Tagiru pouted at Yuu. "Not nice, Yuu."

Taiki hid a laugh at the two of them. They really never changed at all. "I meant, if Ryouma's okay? He seemed pretty upset when he went outside and I was a little worried."

Yuu sweatdropped and Tagiru sighed. _Taiki-san really does lack self-awareness, no wonder Yuu worried about him so much._

"Taiki-san," Yuu murmured. "Please start caring about yourself a little."

"Seriously," Tagiru added, for once agreeing with Yuu.

Taiki blinked, looking a little puzzled. "Eh?"

Tagiru rolled his eyes. "Ryouma's fine. He'll move on and fight to redeem his mistakes. Sitting there and feeling sorry won't change what's happened after all right?"

Taiki stared at Tagiru. "Please don't tell me you told him that..."

Yuu facepalmed. "Tagiru, Taiki-san and I need to teach you how to be tactful, one day."

Tagiru scowled at them both. "I'll have you two know he actually liked someone telling it how it is and it made him determined to do better. So there is nothing wrong with being tactless. Ryouma didn't seem to mind it after all."

Yuu chortled. "Or at least he didn't show it to you."

Taiki chuckled a little at this. "That probably is quite possible, actually."

Tagiru pouted at his mentor now. "Taiki-san! That's not nice!"

Taiki tried to control his amusement for the sake of his junior. "Sorry, Tagiru. I'm glad you're there for him, really. I've tried to talk to him too but he really doesn't let me."

Tagiru turned serious. "Ryouma feels awkward around you. I'm trying to get him to come off that but it might take some time."

Yuu shifted a little, his face darkening. "Of course it'll take time to stop feeling awkward. Those kind of things...you never really forget how dark your heart is after it's been there once." After all, he had enjoyed it back then hadn't he? The thrill, the excitement, throwing digimon around like pawns and almost killing Taiki-san. Taiki and Nene may have forgiven him for that easily but still...

Taiki without thinking twice pulled Yuu close into an embrace. "Your heart isn't dark. At all."

Tagiru agreed, patting Yuu's back. "Yeah, Taiki-san's right Yuu!"

Yuu managed a smile. His friends were always there for him no matter all he had done. "S-sorry...it's just I can kind of relate to Ryouma-san...it hurts losing everything because of your own mistakes..."

Taiki smiled a little. "But we learn from our mistakes too. If we never make mistakes, we'll never move forward and become the better person. And you have grown, Yuu. So much. Nene's proud of you and so am I. You've grown and learnt from your mistakes. And Ryouma will too. I know Tagiru won't stop until he helps him do that."

Tagiru nodded. "Yeah, I won't give up on him!" He scratched his head. "Speaking of that, I do need to go meet up with him soon since we have a sleepover planned and all later tonight." He didn't want to leave Yuu like this though and hesitated. "Yuu, will you...?"

Yuu shifted a little, nodding at Tagiru. "I'm okay." His voice was small and he buried his head in Taiki's shoulder.

Tagiru nodded, grinning. "You better be, man. Taiki-san, make sure Yuu doesn't get all mopey on us ne?"

Taiki laughed as Yuu managed to glower. "Don't worry, I won't let him sulk too long. Say hi to Ryouma ok?"

Tagiru waved to them as he hurried off. "Will do!"

"Taiki-san..." Yuu whined to Taiki's earlier comment about him sulking and faked to pout. "That wasn't nice."

Taiki blinked, wide-eyed innocence on his face. "It wasn't?"

Yuu huffed. "No."

Taiki leaned closer to Yuu, so close that his breath tickled the other's ear. "Want me to make it up to you?"

Yuu turned pink. This wasn't like Taiki. Though the other had been acting slightly strange towards him lately. Yesterday at the party, whenever Airu came closer, Taiki would pull him into an embrace. He knew the other didn't mind being clung to but he was never as openly affectionate as he had been lately. Not that he minded, but his heart was beating so fast that it felt like it would come out of his chest. "T-Taiki-san?"

Taiki hummed. "Yes?"

Yuu wasn't sure what to say. There were words he wanted to say but they seemed stuck in his throat. Should he pull away? Go closer? The truth was, the blond had always wanted to be this close towards his mentor. It was admiration but there was more to it than that. He could feel it. His pink face turned red as Taiki stroked his cheek with his thumb almost absently.

"Yuu?" Taiki said. "Do you want to have a sleepover at my place?"

"S-sure," Yuu stuttered, a little shyly, unable to say anymore. He could swear Taiki was teasing him. Or something like it.

Taiki laughed, then pulled away. "That's great. I've missed you." He then blinked, as if only realising how red Yuu was. "Yuu? Are you okay?"

Yuu stared. Did Taiki really not realise anything? Was he reading too much into things? Maybe this was just how Taiki was because they had grown older. Trying to compose himself, the blond managed "Y-Yeah...everything's fine." He tried to smile. "I've missed you too, Taiki-san."

_I need a little time before this sleepover... _Yuu thought to himself before looking at Taiki.

"Um, I'll come over to your place in an hour or two, Taiki-san," Yuu said. "I promised Neesan I'd spend some time with her."

Taiki paused for a moment, before nodding with a smile. "Of course I understand." He then frowned. "Are you sure you're alright though? You were pretty red."

Yuu had to hold back a sigh. _Goggleheads... _"Yeah, Taiki-san, I'm fine. Really." He knew Taiki didn't really believe him but he wasn't really sure how to explain.

Taiki reached over and tousled Yuu's hair. "If you say so. See you in an hour or so then."

Yuu flushed once more, before the two parted ways.

* * *

Ryouma had to hold back a sigh. "Tagiru, the cards are on the carpet, not on my face." He managed to say this without blushing. He had agreed to the sleepover at Tagiru's because the other seemed a bit worried since the other day.

Tagiru flushed.

"I know that," Tagiru said defensively. "I'm just going easy on you!" The truth was he had been admiring the other's well-toned muscles and body as well as his lips. What happened between the two of them that day had made things a bit awkward between them because neither of them knew how to talk about it.

Ryouma did sigh this time. "You know, avoiding this topic isn't doing either of us any good. So why don't we talk about it?"

Tagiru shifted. "Ryouma, it wasn't a big deal. I'm just clingy like that, ask Yuu about it sometime."

Ryouma raised an eyebrow. "If that's it, then why can't you focus on the card game?"

Tagiru sighed. He was really bad at words because he always screwed them up no matter how much he tried. So he leaned closer to Ryouma, grabbed him by the wrists and captured the other's lips in his own. Words weren't his forte and Ryouma could always push him away right?

The other did seem to be kissing back though so that was a good sign. Sort of, at least. Tagiru deepened the kiss a little bit, running his tongue over Ryouma's lips.

That was when Ryouma seemed to push him off, stumbling back.

"T-Tagiru, what are you doing?" Ryouma stuttered out, face red.

Tagiru blinked innocently. "Did you not like it?" He was confused. Ryouma seemed to be enjoying the kiss, responding and everything, so what had happened?

"That isn't the point, you idiot!" Ryouma yelled. "You don't just kiss someone like that!"

"You liked it, so I don't see what the problem is!" Tagiru snapped, losing patience.

"You don't even know if I feel like that for you!" Ryouma retorted.

"You sure seemed fine kissing me back!" Tagiru yelled back. "Stop being a hypocrite Ryouma!"

"I was in shock, I didn't enjoy kissing you at all!" Ryouma snapped without thinking twice, before putting a hand to his mouth and stumbling back further towards the door. "I...I need to go." He turned around and ran from there.

"Dammit!" Tagiru shoved the cards to the side, causing them to scatter everywhere.


End file.
